St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-06-25

pocket. What book is IL you nave III
your hand? What newspaper is 1t you
have in your pocket? Ministers may
preach, reformers may plan, phllanthro-
pists may toll for the elevation OF the
suffering and the criminal, but until all
the newspapers of the land and all the
booksellers of the land set themselves
against an Ubiquitous literature-until
then we shall be fighting against fearful
odds. Every time the cylinders of our
great publishing houses turn they make
the earth quake. From them goes forth
a thought like an angel of light to feed
and bless the world, or like an angel of
darkness to smite it with corruption and
sin and shame and death. May God by
His omnipotent spirit purify and elevate
the American printing-press.
go on further and say that we must
depend upon the school for a. great deal
of correcting influence. Community can
no more afford to have ignorant men in
its midst than it can afford to have un-
Gagged hyenas. Ignorance is the mother
of hydra-headed crime. Thirty-one per
cent of all the criminals of New York
State can neither read nor write. Intel.
lectual darkness is generally the pre-
cursor of moral darkness. / know there
are educated outlaws-men who, through
their sharpness of intellect. are made
more dangerous. They use their fine
penmanship in signing other peoples
names, and their science in in
genious burglaries, and their fine
manners in adroit libertinism. They
60 their round of sin with well-cut ap-
parel, and dangling jewelry, and watches
of eighteen karats, and kid gloves. They
are refined, educated, magnificent viii
lains. But that is the exception. 1t is
generally the case that the criminal
classes are as ignorant as they are
wicked. For the proof of what l say,
go into the prisons and the penitentia-
ries, and look upon the men and women
incarcerated. The dishonesty in the eye,
the low passion in the lip, are not more
conspicuous than the ignorance in the
forehead. The ignorant classes are al
ways the dangerous classes. Dema-
gogues marshal them. They are helm
less, and are driven before the gale.
1t is high time that all city and State
authority, as well as the Federal govern
ment, appreciate the awful statistics that
while years ago in this country there
were set apart 100000 of acres of land
for school purposes, there are now in
New England 10000 people who can
neither read nor write, and in the State
of Pennsylvania 222, 900 who can neither
read nor write, and in the State of New
York 241 900 who can neither read nor
write, while in the United States there
are near 5000, 900 who can neither read
nor write. Statistics enough to stagger
and confound any man who loves his
God and his country.
Now, in view of this fact, am in
favor of compulsory education. When
parents are SO bestial as to neglect this
duty to the child, I say the law, with a
strong hand, at the same time with
gentle hand, ought to lead these little
ones into the light of intelligence and
good morals. 1t was beautiful tableau
when in our city a swarthy policeman
having picked up a lost child in the
street, was found appeasing its cries
with stick of candy he had bought at
the apple stand. That was well done, and
beautifully done. But, oh! these thou
sands of little ones through our streets
who are crying for the bread of knowl
edge and intelligence! Shall we not
give it to them? The officers of the law
ought to go down into the cellars
and up into the garrets, and bring out
these benighted little ones, and put them
under educational influences; after they
have passed through the bath and under
the comb, putting before them the spell
ing-book, and teaching them to read the
Lords Prayer and the Sermon on the
Mount: BLESSED are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven"
Our city ought to be father and mother
both to these outcast little ones. AS
recipe for the cure of much of the woe,
and want and crime of our city, give
the words which Thorwaldsen had CHS
eled on the open scroll in the hand of the
statue of John Gutenberg, the inventor
of the art of printing: "Let there be
lghtr'
Still further: Reformatory societies
are an important element in the recti6-
cation of the public fountains. With
out calling any of them by name, refer
more especially to those which recognize
the physical as we'll as the moral woes of
the world. There was pathos and
great deal of common sense in what the
poor woman said to DR.. Guthrie when he
was telling her what very good woman
she ought to be. "Oh," she said, "if you
were as hungry and cold as l am you
could think of nothing else" l
believe the great want of our
city is the Gospel and something to eat!
Faith and repentance are of infinite i'm
portance; but they cannot satisfy an
empty stomach! You have to go forth
in this work with the bread of eternal
life in your right hand, and the bread of
this life in your left, and then you can
tOuch them Initiating the Lord Jesus
Christ, who first broke the bread
and fed the multitude in the wilderness,
and then began to preach, recognizing
the fact that while people are hungry
they will not listen, and they will not
repent. We want more common sense
in the distribution of our charities
fewer magnificent theories, and more
hard work.
Still further: The great remedial
influence is the Gospel of Christ. Take
that down through the lanes of suffering.
Take that down amid the novels of sin.
Take that up amid the mansions and
palaces of your city. That is the salt
that can cure all the poisoned fountains
of public iniquity. Do you know that
in this cluster of three cities, New York,
Jersey City, and Brooklyn, there are
great multitude of homeless children?
You see speak more in regard to the
youth and the children of the country,
because old villaias are seldom reformed,
and, therefore, i talk more about
the little ones. They sleep under